With
the first generation of InfiniBand-enabled products being introduced this year
(2001) InfiniCon Systems, Inc., a premier developer of InfiniBand-enabled,
multi-protocol intelligent system area network and I/O infrastructure products,
is focused on delivering complete solutions leveraging InfiniBand ecosystem
components. Because InfiniBand will bring fundamental changes to the data
center, there exists a need to examine and discuss its implications. InfiniCon
Systems has committed itself to anticipating user questions and beginning a
dialogue within the industry.

It will replace the
last remaining strongholds of
hard drives in the
datacenter due to its unique combination of characteristics, low running costs
and operational advantages.

...

The new model of the
datacenter - how we get from here to there - and the technical problems which
will need to be solved - are just some of the ideas explored in this
visionary article.

InfiniBand is a new
industry standard for server input/output (I/O) communications. It eases the
data congestion among hardware devices by enabling servers, remote storage and
other networking devices to be attached in a central "fabric" of
switches and links. This high bandwidth, highly scalable, switched serial
infrastructure addresses the bandwidth and connectivity limitations facing data
centers today without compromising availability.

One of the most remarkable things about InfiniBand is that it enables
I/O to be completely removed from the server. Next generation InfiniBand-based
servers, some of which may be much smaller than traditional servers, can be
connected by a sharable I/O infrastructure that will provide server clustering
and integration of existing data center infrastructures. Ultra-dense server
clusters connected through stand-alone, InfiniBand-enabled I/O subsystems will
soon be deployed to handle heavy-transaction environments. The results will be
higher bandwidth, better data availability and lower administration costs.

The InfiniBand architecture delivers three levels of performance with
the 1X link technology (500MB/s), the 4X link technology (2GB/s) and the 12X
link technology (6GB/s). These performance levels will be commercially
available at different points over the next eighteen months. InfiniCon Systems
is developing I/O subsystems that will provide InfiniBand switching for
clustering applications, as well as the I/O infrastructure for connectivity into
existing Ethernet LANs and fibre channel-based storage networks.

The InfiniBand Ecosystem

InfiniBand is already being implemented in hardware components
such as Host Channel Adaptor (HCA), Target Channel Adaptor (TCA) and InfiniBand
Switch silicon. In addition, InfiniBand subnet management software is being
developed to manage the fabric. These components and software management
entities will need to be leveraged into complete system solutions to enable data
centers to reap the benefits of the InfiniBand architecture.

"With processor speeds increasing to two gigahertz and high
bandwidth connectivity becoming more prevalent, the bottleneck of the server I/O
complex has to be removed. In order for users to benefit from faster processing
power and increased data movement, a new paradigm is required. By moving the
I/O complex from the server into an independent, scalable I/O subsystem, users
will benefit from higher scalability than previously possible, as well as the
ability to connect into existing infrastructures," explained Philip Murphy,
president and co-founder, InfiniCon Systems.

InfiniCon Systems believes that InfiniBand will become a major
standard in data centers, and that as InfiniBand applications mature, a tier
will begin to emerge with increasing degrees of intelligence. As a result of the
new InfiniBand technology, data centers will be able to deploy sharable I/O
subsystems that enable customers to fully exploit their CPU power without
replacing their existing network and storage infrastructure investment.
Additionally, more common sharable services will be deployed within the
InfiniBand fabric.

"InfiniBand will expand the horizons of enterprise
interconnectivity over the next eight years as the intelligent controller has
for enterprise storage over the past eight. Evidenced by InfiniCon Systems'
choice of the word 'ecosystem,' InfiniBand defines an evolving systems
environment," commented John Young, research program director, enterprise
storage, D.H. Brown Associates. "This
environment is one that expands infrastructure possibilities, stretches data
center boundaries, and supports the needs of highly differentiated end-user
communities. With InfiniBand, the computing industry takes a giant step towards
ultimate responsiveness to user needs."